Fitzpatrick, a five-time winner on the European Tour, was ferocious in his chase of Rai, who fought back with birdies that kept his chance. The key moment was on the 17th when Fitzpatrick missed a par putt to fall two behind Rai heading to the final hole. “It was great,” said Fitzpatrick. “Obviously disappointing on 17th there, such a simple bogey. It was always going to be tough to beat him. The last two days, he’s been very solid and not given anything away.”
On the 18th, Fitzpatrick recovered from a poor drive off the tee to get up and down for par and all Rai had to do was par or bogey to lift the title. He fell short of a par but easily tapped in for bogey. The Englishman didn’t raise his arms nor scream in delight, but simply sighed and looked at the gallery.
